Anthem Of The Angels
by shialuvr222
Summary: "Guilt threatened to suffocate her, despite the fact that there was nothing she could have done. The moment when she asked him a question and he couldn't answer was the moment when she realized that it was over." Major character death. Oneshot.


A/N: Another oneshot inspired by the music-on-shuffle technique; this time, Anthem Of The Angels by Breaking Benjamin (3). I wrote this for Tim and Ziva (non-romantically) because I realized that of all the Tim/Abby and Tim/Tony I've written, I've never touched Tim/Ziva or Tim/Ducky, and I've hardly done Tim/Gibbs (by all of that, I mean friendship, except Tim/Abby), so this was to take care of Tim/Ziva. I love Ziva :) I'll do Tim/Ducky and Tim/Gibbs later. I know, the location, situation, and injury are vague, but I wanted to focus more on the emotions than the particulars. PLEASE tell me what you think, I'd love to know. Free cookies to reviewers! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, any of the characters or the song Anthem Of The Angels. If I did, _obviously_ Tim and Abby would be together, and Breaking Benjamin would be playing in my hometown every. Single. Night. :D I did write this fic, though. :)

XXX

_White walls surround us_  
><em>No light will touch your face again<em>

"Don't worry, McGee. We will escape," Ziva reassured, attempting to pick the handcuffs behind her back with a sliver of metal. She eventually succeeded, but the door was still tightly sealed. The window had too many bars to penetrate.

_Rain taps the window_  
><em>As we sleep among the dead<em>

It was raining outside, she noticed. In the dim light, she inspected her companion from across the room. He looked terrible.

He had always been pale, but now his face was an unhealthy yellowish-white. He was sweating, his eyes were closed, though she knew he was awake, and his breathing was shallow.

_Days go on forever_  
><em>But I have not left your side<em>

She scooted across the room and turned so that she was facing him from his left side. She then lifted his shaking hand from his body and examined the entry wound he had been covering. The bleeding had slowed, which could be either very good or very, very bad; from the looks of it, it was the latter. Looking at his face to address him, she stopped short when she realized he was smiling.

_We can chase the dark together_  
><em>If you go then so will I<em>

"What is so funny?"

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"No," he explained, "I mean, 'don't.' You used a contraction."

She smiled. How he managed to be trapped in a concrete room, a hundred and fifty miles from home, and still notice her English, she would never know.

_There is nothing left of you_  
><em>I can see it in your eyes<em>

"Try not to think about it, McGee," she advised, noting his wince.

Shifting slightly, she leaned her head against the cool white wall and closed her eyes, trying to clear her head. She didn't know how they were getting out of this, if they were at all.

_Sing the anthem of the angels_  
><em>And say the last goodbye<em>

She didn't know exactly when she fell asleep, but a short, suppressed gasp woke her. It was much darker outside than it was before, and she guessed it was because of a mixture of darker clouds and the sinking sun they couldn't see. She looked up. Tim looked worse than before, by far.

_Cold light above us_  
><em>Hope fills the heart<em>  
><em>And fades away<em>

He was visibly in pain, more than before, and she could see that every breath was a struggle. She shook off her daze and immediately pulled his hand back to see the wound.

It was infected.

_Skin white as winter_  
><em>As the sky returns to grey<em>

Guilt threatened to suffocate her, despite the fact that there was nothing she could have done. She pushed it back, though, and focused on the present. Their captors didn't appear to be returning any time soon, nor had they expressed any interest in helping.

_Days go on forever_  
><em>But I have not left your side<em>

She scoured her brain for something, anything, that she could do. Anything to ease his pain, or at least lessen it, but she drew a blank. No words of encouragement came to mind, no cure, not even a subject to distract him.

_We can chase the dark together_  
><em>If you go then so will I<em>

She was forced to watch as his breaths became more ragged, more difficult. She talked about anything, everything she could think of to try to get him to talk to her, but that was slowly becoming impossible as well. The moment when she asked him a question and he couldn't answer was the moment when she realized that it was over.

_There is nothing left of you_  
><em>I can see it in your eyes<em>

"Z-Ziva," he choked out, shaking with exhaustion. She shushed him.

"Quiet, McGee. You'll be alright."

"F-for ex-Mossad, you… s-sure are a terrible l-liar."

She smiled despite the tears in her eyes. His eyes remained closed, but there was a trace of humor on his face. It disappeared quickly.

_Sing the anthem of the angels_  
><em>And say the last goodbye<em>

"Pl… Please…"

Her voice was full of emotion. "There is nothing I can do, McGee. I'm… I'm so sorry," she confessed quietly.

"Tell them… w-what they need… t-to know."

_I keep holding onto you_  
><em>But I can't bring you back to life<em>

She held his hand as he died, and escaped soon after, killing all in her path. Then she did what he had asked.

She told Gibbs what an inspiration he'd been, and Abby that he had loved her; Ducky, that he always loved the stories, Tony that, despite the teasing, he knew he had his six. Most importantly, every morning, when she woke up, Ziva remembered what Tim told her, locked in that room.

_I couldn't have asked for a better friend._

_Sing the anthem of the angels_  
><em>And say the last goodbye…<em>

XXX

A/N: Did you know magic really does exist? Yes, it does! :D It's right up there ^ and it goes under the disguise of "Review this Story". *talks like B.O.B.* Do you got the magic in you?


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